THE OSPREY. 



An Illustrtitecl IMagazine of Pojouilar Ornithology. 

 P<ihlisl)ed Mootl^ly e^ieept ir) Jdly aod A6ij6st. 



Volume III. 



DECEnBER, 1898. 



Number 4. 



Original Articles. 



A MORNING WITH THE BIRDS ON MOUNT ORIZABA. 

 By E. \V. Nelson, Washington, D. C. 



HE Volcano 

 of Orizaba 

 rises boldly 

 fro ni the 

 eastern bor- 

 der of the 

 Mexican ta- 

 bleland in 

 the State of 

 P u e b 1 a . 

 When free 

 from cloitds 

 its snowy 

 cone is a 

 notable ob- 

 ject from all 

 the s u r- 

 ro n n d i n g 

 country. 

 The table- 

 land at the 

 western 

 base of the 

 mountain is 

 devoid of 

 trees, but at 

 the foot of 

 the slope, at 

 an altitude 

 of about 

 8,600 feet, a broad belt of coniferous forest be- 

 gins and extends up to 13, 6(10 feet. 



While working on the adjacent tableland in 

 sight of this mountain, I looked with interest 

 toward its slopes in the hope of finding many 

 unfamiliar birds when the time should arrive 

 to visit it. When the mountain was finally 

 reached I was surprised to see how closely the 

 bird-life of the western slope, where the first 

 work was done, re ,emblod that of the southern 

 Rocky Mountains in the United States. Eater 

 in the season, when the eastern side fronting 

 the tropical lowlands was visited, many birds 

 new to us were seen, and in a few hours' travel 

 we had an opportunity to trace progressive 

 changes in bird-life through several faunal 

 zones. The present notes, however, are limited 

 to some of our first experiences on the moun- 

 tain side. 



The last of^April, a few seasons ago, Mr. E. 

 A. Goldman and I camped in the forest on the 

 western slope of Orizaba at an altitude of 11,200 



feet. Nearly 3,000 feet below us the tableland 

 extended westward like a brown sea, with ir- 

 regular billows where hills and ridges broke 

 the general level, and appeared to surround the 

 higher mountains that rose island like in their 

 mid.st. The Indian hut in which we camped 

 was a rude affair at the edge of a clearing, a 

 few acres in extent, where wheat and potatoes 

 were cultivated in a small way. All about were 

 pines, firs, tree alders and madronos, with a 

 scattered undergrowth of various species of 

 shrubs. The uncultivated parts of the fields 

 and the more open parts of the forested .slopes 

 were covered by an abundance of grass. 



It was with much interest that I started out, 

 gun in hand, just as the sun sent its first rays 

 down the mountain side, the morning after our 

 arrival. Many Juncos and Chipping Sparrows 

 (Junco plicronohis and Spizc/la s. arizona;) were 

 out forag-ing for an early breakfast among the 

 scanty weeds in the potato field and, as I skirted 

 along a row of tall bushes forming a broken 

 hedge on one side of the cleared ground, they 

 amused me by the panic-stricken manner in 

 which the}' skurried into shelter, alarmed by my 

 approach. The Chipping Sparrows were found 

 in open ground only, but the Juncos were every- 

 where, as appeared later, even among' the tops 

 of tall fir trees in the denser parts of the forest, 

 where two or three were shot when too high to 

 be distinguished from other small birds with 

 which they were consorting. Among the bushes 

 on the far side of the field several finches (Pi- 

 pilo ntaciilafiis and C/niiinrospha torquata) were 

 singing from the topmost twigs, but always on 

 the alert and ready to dive into the leafy shelter 

 below when I came too near. It required con- 

 siderable maneuvering- to get specimens of 

 these birds, they were so wary and expert at the 

 game of hide-and-seek. A small flock of Jays 

 (Aphelocoma) went trooping off through the 

 open pine woods as I left the fields, and several 

 Diadem Javs (Cvaiwcitta diadeinala) were seen 

 during this part of my walk. The Mexican 

 Nuthatch (Silla c. iiuwicana) was rather com- 

 mon on scattered trees about the clearing, and 

 Pigmv Nuthatches (Sitta pygmira) were often 

 heard'piping their little calls to one another or 

 drumming vigorously on dry branches in the 

 tops of trees. 



After entering the forest my attention was 

 drawn toa.hill slope on the farther side of the 



